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Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:52 pm
by fatbananas
Can anyone give any tips on how one thinks of stories? My DS has come home with a story title for homework. He says they usually think of ideas as a class, in the classroom, but this has to be start-to-finish his ideas and we're a bit stuck! :? I hadn't appreciated that this was a problem as I've been told before, from his teacher, that he usually 'adds' elements to the story, twists and turns, which take him off the original plot and which mean he never finishes a story, so I had thought imagination wasn't a problem. But it seems that actually thinking of the initial story is a bit challenging.

Is there a way of 'getting into' a story title to start generating ideas?

Many thanks :)

Re: Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:59 pm
by fatbananas
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Re: Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:33 pm
by poppit
Hi fatbananas

Have a look at this

http://www.iwanttowrite.co.uk/page3.html

it might give you some ideas that you can talk through with your DC.

Re: Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:19 pm
by Fran17
My youngest DS seemed to have a problem with this. Coming up with an initial idea seemed to pose a bit of a problem for him. We used to brain storm on the way home in the car, firing ideas at one another until we happened upon something that fuelled his imagination. He has no trouble with this now as I think he still uses this method but in his own mind. Good luck. I am sure your DS will crack it.

Re: Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:47 pm
by fatbananas
Thank you Poppit: that looks like a really useful site to get to grips with the whole process.

Fran17: thanks for your encouraging words! We did do that a bit on Sunday and he finally managed to write a story. I was a bit anxious though because the plot was definitely a collaborative effort: one of us would have an idea, that the other would develop. But, as you say, a bit like anything, you practice something a bit with someone else and then it becomes a 'habit' you can do on your own. And making it a general thing to do (thinking up plot ideas), a skill to hone, perhaps, rather than doing it in a panic when when he's been given a title for homework, might take the pressure off and just be a fun, creative passtime. Well, we can hope, anyway :wink:

Thank you both :D

Re: Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 3:38 pm
by menagerie
Fatbananas, I really wouldn't worry about it being collaborative at this stage. Most learning is, at the outset. My son started out by writing stories that were so derivative of Alex Rider even his brother said they were shameless copies. But as he grew in confidence, and learned, through imitation, he has developed his own style and skill.

Re: Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:26 pm
by fatbananas
Thanks Menagerie. Do you think that one day I will not need to write any threads about writing stories? :roll: :)

Re: Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:06 am
by ourmaminhavana
Sorry FB I've just seen this thread, have you tried getting him to cut out a few pictures of people, scenes from magazines, looked at postcards etc. You could give a pic as stimulus along with a few questions eg Who are these people? How long have they been here? What time of year is it? Weather? What are they waiting for? What's the problem? etc In my experience most children find this type of visual stimulus quite useful for getting started. Good luck!

Re: Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:35 am
by menagerie
This is a bit opportunist of me but... if I wrote a pamphlet/mini book on exactly this subject, How to Develop a Story or Essay, would you buy it?

I ask because I teach this stuff. I design all my own material because the literature available on this topic is pretty useless and imprecise. The format would be a series of fun exercises which are applicable whatever stage you're at, because they are essentially foundation blocks for structuring creative and critical thinking. So the booklet would be useful to KS2 but also up to A-level essay writing?

Re: Brain storming story ideas

Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 11:16 am
by fatbananas
Hi Ourmam, I read your thread last night and DS and I immediately did a story plan looking at a photograph from the newspaper of a family - grandparents, parents and a little girl, escaping the floods. Each had a plastic bag containing belongings. Needless to say, in DS's storyplan it involved escaping via army helicopter :roll: but we got there. Interestingly, DS didn't really understand what a character was! He plays endlessly with lego and playmobil figures but I suppose they have their own identity - as a ninja, or a policeman, or whatever. So I'm going to concentrate on characterisation for a bit, keeping it fairly simple. Is the main character bossy, kind, thoughtful, a bit mad (so make it all about me, in other words :lol:)? Do you think that sounds like a good way to go?

Menagerie, it sounds like a really good idea. :) I think I always like to see a couple of example pages so that I know it's the sort of thing I'm looking for, but I think there would be a market for it.